A small miracle. That’s what Paris Saint-Germain benefited from on Wednesday evening to escape the trap set by Girona (1-0). Up against the sensation of last season’s Liga on the first day of the Champions League, the reigning French champions were finally saved in the final seconds by a terrible error from Paulo Gazzaniga (90th). On a final tight cross from Nuno Mendes, the Argentinian goalkeeper made a complete mistake, letting the ball slip between his legs and, at the same time, offering the three points to the capital club. An unexpected gift considering the insipid performance delivered by the Parisians for this first European meeting. In a Parc des Princes deprived of its Auteuil bend – a direct consequence of the smoke bombs deployed against Borussia Dortmund at the end of last season – PSG will have shone above all by its clumsiness. Symbol of this offensive impotence? Ousmane Dembélé.
Dembélé missed everything, Barcola transparent
Praised for his somewhat recovered finishing in recent weeks, the former Barcelona player, credited with a 3 by the FM editorial team, unfortunately fell back into his old ways this Wednesday evening. While still as hard-hitting and a constant threat to his direct opponents, the Vernon native nevertheless failed in the final move. As a result, the Parisian number 10 only got two small shots on target out of his eight attempts. Generally imprecise (18 balls lost), sometimes frustrated by Paulo Gazzaniga, like this opportunity ending on the Girona crossbar (62nd), Dembélé will also have disgusted the Parisian supporters. Ideally launched in depth by Randal Kolo Muani, author of a great entry into play, the French international procrastinated and left time for Ladislav Krejci to intervene on the wire (54th). A failed face-to-face ultimately summarizing, in itself, the very contrasting performance of the interested party.
Expected to be the main offensive leader of this PSG orphaned by Kylian Mbappé, the one who has compiled 3 goals and 2 assists after four Ligue 1 matches is not the only one to blame. Already disappointing against Brest last weekend, Bradley Barcola simply missed the event. Very discreet in his left wing, the former OL player never found the solution against the compact block of the Spaniards (3 duels won out of 7, 11 balls lost, no successful dribbles). Despite some interesting shifts at the start of the match, Marco Asensio threw in the towel shortly before the break, victim of a right thigh injury. If his successor, Randal Kolo Muani, tried to bring some results after the break, success ultimately also eluded him (0 shots on target out of 5 attempts). It should be noted, in this respect, that PSG only got 5 small shots on target out of the 26 attempts that evening. A very telling statistic, summarizing the lack of offensive efficiency.
Luis Enrique is not worried
Present at a press conference after the match, Luis Enrique nevertheless wanted to defend his players, starting with Bradley Barcola. “Bradley is still the same player, you idolized him 2 weeks ago but I don’t make comparisons. What matters to me is the present”noted the Spanish technician before adding: “If we look at the opportunities it is very favorable for us but yes we did not have realism with us”. And to conclude: “A lack of efficiency? We score 4 on average, that’s football, a wonderful sport. Tonight, there was only one goal. It’s unfair to see problems where I don’t see any.”A lack of success also pointed out by Achraf Hakimi in the mixed zone. “It was a little frustrating not to score because we created a lot of chances but we lacked in finishing. In the end, we made good decisions at the end and we found the solution and we leave with this victory.”.
When asked about the subject again, Willian Pacho also admitted the Parisians’ failure in this sector, without however being alarmed. “Missed opportunities? That’s football, it’s part of football, we’ll continue to work on that aspect to improve but tonight we’re leaving with the three points.”. Winner for the fifth time in as many games this season, Paris Saint-Germain will now be able to focus on their next two Ligue 1 games (away to Reims and hosting Rennes) before meeting Arsenal for the second day of the Champions League. Against the Gunners, Luis Enrique’s men will certainly have to rediscover this efficiency to bring back a positive result from the Emirates Stadium and thus continue their path towards this long-awaited top 8…
